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Rupert Murdoch Looks To Acquire ‘LA Times’ And ‘Chicago Tribune’

Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if more news was like Fox News?

News Corp. (parent company to Fox News) media mogul Rupert Murdoch is reportedly looking to buy out two major US publications: The L.A. Times and The Chicago Tribune. The controversial news boss has been in preliminary talks regarding the purchase of both papers and Tribune Co., according to executives at Murdoch’s media company, News Corp., and the L.A. Times itself.

According to Newser, Murdoch’s media empire already includes the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and Fox News, all of which are considered right-leaning news outlets, while the L.A. Times and Chicago Tribune are a bit more middle-left.

Murdoch will likely have some competition when the Tribune Co. emerges from bankruptcy late this year. Others have expressed interest in acquiring it, with some opining that a return to local ownership would be the best move for each paper. What’s more, Murdoch could find himself on the business end of regulators since he already owns Fox stations in Chicago and LA.

Furthermore, News Corp. investors may cry foul over Murdoch’s interest in acquiring two big papers in an increasingly digital age. But Murdoch is the boss, and is said to have “an irrational love of newspapers,” according to one analyst. “He is the last of the press barons … a red-blooded, swashbuckling, stop-the-presses kind of character.”

So, Rupert Murdoch is Citizen Kane.

What do you think? Would you still read the L.A. Times or The Chicago Tribune if it read a bit more like Fox News? Remember, Murdoch’s ownership wouldn’t necessarily mean a change in editorial, but you could at least call it likely, right?